WUST-TV
'''WUST-TV, channel 23, is the MGM-affiliated station that is licensed to Ponce, Puerto Rico. WUST is owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History WLOP-TV The station first signed on as WLOP-TV on March 9, 1961 (the same day the MGM Television Network was launched in New York and Los Angeles), after receiving the FCC permit to go on the air on channel 23. It was owned by Samuel Rodríguez Guevara. Its news director was Gabriela Pérez (third-cousin of businessman Rafael Pérez Perry), with Marco Diaz as production manager and Sigmund Cumbay as its chief engineer. It operated as an independent station, as did all stations in Puerto Rico at that time. It carried some 18 daily programs, including news, movies, cartoons, and soap operas, among others. In 1963, the station's staff had expanded to include president Kenneth E. Sakamoto (the first Asian immigrant in Puerto Rico to run a television station), general manager Juan Cortes, commercial manager and news director Angelica Cuomo, promotional manager Winnie Brizuela, and chief engineer Ines María de Monteagudo. On January 1, 1964, WLOP picked up the MGM affiliation. Australovisión On April 20, 1964, Robert O'Brien, president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Samuel Rodríguez Guevara, president of Austral de Televisión, announced that MGM would gain 50% control of WLOP-TV. WLOP began operating from color-equipped studios in Ponce and from its new sister station WTBR (channel 40) San Juan, an independent station at the time. The station's slogan became "W-U-S-T Televisión Canal 23 Ponce: cubriendo a Ponce, Yauco y todo el Sur de Puerto Rico" ("W-U-S-T Television Channel 23 Ponce: covering Ponce, Yauco and all of Southern Puerto Rico"). In 1982, Malrite Communications bought another quarter (twenty-five percent) of WUST, and together with MGM rebranded the station as Australovisión. The station's logo was a Cacique. From Yauco, the station broadcasts Manuel Darchinyan (later baptized as Darchíñan)'s El Show de Ponce y Yauco for two seasons; the station also produced Showtime (with Wilkins), Las Tigresas del Sur, El Show de Charlie Frann, and the well-known children's show, Australuela (hosted by Remedios de Alvear). The station continued to air some programming from Ponce, including local newscasts. Its news anchor was Gabriela C. Baraquel, who won the Southern Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce's Rafael L. Torres award for Excellence in Journalism in 1982 and 1984. Under MGM In 1990, Malrite sold its share of WUST to MGM, which later acquired the station outright and changes its call letters to WMGP (MGM Ponce). The station experienced limited success at the time using colorful motion graphics and a new logo as well as major advertising in newspapers, and televising popular American sitcoms of the time, such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Simpsons, along with major Hollywood movies. MGM 23 also broadcast five daily news segments named Notidigestos (literal translation: news digests) hosted by news reporter Cecil Darchíñan. Later that year, the station merged its operations with those of its sister station WTBR (which changed its call letters to WTSJ at the time), in which the station became a semi-satellite of. In 1999, WMGP joins sister stations WBRQ San Juan and WOXD (channel 53) Añasco to form "MGM Boriquén". In 2004, the station reverts its call letters to WUST-TV and remains the "MGM Boriquén" branding. Translator stations *Yauco - W57YU-D - channel 57.1 *Santa Isabel - W68SI-D - channel 68.1 *Coamo - W48CA-D - channel 48.1 *Guayama - W65GA-D - channel 65.1 Station ID Transcripts *1961-1964: Transmite WLOP-TV Canal Veintitres Ponce, Puerto Rico. Una propiedad de Austral de Televisión. *1964: Transmite Austral de Televisión, WLOP Canal Veintitres Ponce, una emisora de Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer en Puerto Rico. *1964-1982: Esta es WUST Televisión Canal Veintitres Ponce: cubriendo a Ponce, Yauco y todo el Sur de Puerto Rico. *1982-1987: Esta es WUST-TV Canal Veintitres Ponce, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer de Puerto Rico. *1987-1990: Esta es WUST-TV MGM 23 Ponce, una estación de Malrite Communications Group. *1990-1994: Estas viendo la cadena MGM, WTSJ-TV Canal Veintisiete Fajardo/San Juan y WMGP-TV Canal Vientitres Ponce. *1994-1999: Estas viendo la cadena MGM, WTSJ-TV Canal Veintisiete Fajardo/San Juan, WMGP-TV Canal Vientitres Ponce y WOXD-TV Canal Cincuenta y tres Añasco/Mayagüez. *1999-2004: Estas viendo la cadena MGM Boriquén, WBRQ-TV Canal Veintisiete Fajardo/San Juan, WMGP-TV Canal Vientitres Ponce y WOXD-TV Canal Cincuenta y tres Añasco/Mayagüez. Category:Television channels and stations established in 1961 Category:Ponce Category:Puerto Rico Category:Channel 23 Category:MGM Network affiliates Category:MGM Holdings Category:MGM Network Owned-and-Operated stations Category:MGM affiliates Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer